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Opinions? Reliability? Thinking about road trips and speed is not an issue.

The wife has looked at the Ural Tourist and thinks she might like to drive it. For me, traveling means packing a toothbrush and a clean T-shirt. She's a licensed cosmetologist, so packing light is not an option. With her own sidehack, she can bring whatever she wants and I can continue to ride with just a roll bag.

Anybody with Ural experience?

The only experience I have is with my friends Ural. It was sent in a kit and we put it together. The thing really sucked. I don't know too much about the newer models. The one we built was pretty beat up out of the box. terrible carbs. shoddy wiring. The newer ones may be better.

have you got loooooooooooooooots of tools? dont even think about one

We have a Ural dealer here in town When I asked him about reliability he asked "Compared to what?" His other brand is Royal Enfield A local farmer owns one of the sidecar models that has two drive wheels. He sais that it is great in the mud. No one has ever said anything positive about their reliabilty or parts availability. Bring a tow strap

To give you an idea of the reliability of Russian made vehicles, here is a quote from a description of a Russian "luxury" car, "The components were improved (now of western production: Valeo, Lucas,"

I would not trust anything from a country that considers Lucas components as an improvement.

ooo ooo ooo...mark want wolf!

Hey Mark, I have been looking at that bike for awhile, its kind of cool..........

My step-brothers father bought one of the "army" painted urals. I think he flipped it in the first week. I never rode it or heard it run, but my step-brother was commuting on it a few weeks ago. He never mentioned having any problems.

The only thing I remember about the Ural is a motorcicle magazine did a long term test on them back when they were first imported to the United States (circa 1980s). It was a 5,000 mile test and they gave up after 800 miles because of too many breakdowns. There are so many options for your wife, unless you are talking about having a side car or trike. Look at the Ridley. It's an automatic (CVT belt drive tranny), weighs 380 pounds, has a 24 inch seat height, made in Oklahoma and runs out very well for a 750
V-Twin. My wife loved it, even with her bum left knee. The only problem for us was the $13,000 price tag. Maybe later.

I remember reading in an old AWOL magazine that an R90 or R100 airhead engine will bolt right up to a Ural's tranny.
Something to think about.

Thanks for the replies, but it doesn't sound promising. Maybe this is just my chauvinistic attitude, but I spend too much time worrying when she's on her own on 2 wheels. She's been off riding for about 10 years and her reflexes aren't what they used to be. In the meantime she's acquired quite a few titanium parts (including in her vertebrae). I know her skills will pick back up with practice, but one "oops" in the meantime and she could be in real trouble. On the other hand, I don't want to be the one who says; "You can't have another motorcycle."

The lack of a dealer network in the Carolina's (where we usually travel) isn't very confidence building either.

Guess we'll just keep exploring options.

I remembered reading an article on the URAL recently but I'll be darned if I can find the link. It was a pretty good history of how the Russians captured one the BMW plants in WW2 and snatched all of the machinery and then went into production of the URAL. If I recall correctly the author had taken a long trip in the military version of the side hack and gave a thorough report. Wish I could find the link for you...

If it was in one of the bike mags a few months back, I probably read it. That author (a motorcycle and aviation enthusiast) and his wife took a Mfg. demo on a road trip following the same route Charles Lindbergh once took on his bike. I seem to remember the opinion that Ural has greatly improved, but since I wasn't considering a Ural at the time, I don't remember enough of the details. Anyway, that issue's long gone.

Once read, all my mags (except The Horse) are distributed at work just to remind my co-workers that there's something to ride other than a Harley or VTX.

Hey, I remembered where to look for that story NY Times URAL story

Great. That'll give me something to read during tomorrow morning's staff meeting.

Just reading the Times, Boss. Gotta keep up with the latest, you know.

A good friend of mine has one, and I swear it spends more time in the shop then it does on the road. I know it's been hard to find someone to work on it, and it's not cheap.

last night, while Blue and i were out for a constitutional, i saw someone on a URAL with a side car.

PS My buddy's Ural has a side car. Anyone ever try riding with one of those. It's a whole different ball game.

I had a Yamaha Venture 1100 ith a Califorrnia Sidecar. Looked like the Batmobile, handled like bat guano. But, it was pretty cool not having to put your feet down when you stopped. Turning was always a challenge as it never handled the way I expected.

How hard is riding a side hack rig?
I am thinking about buying a second bike, and was planning on a sport type. But I'm thinking I have a kid coming and a side car would be cool.
I know the steering is opposite and there is no lean involved. Are there sidecar courses available?

Nothing wrong with worry. I worry about Wendy every time we go out. I never voice it unless I see something she needs to do to make her riding safer.(tends to hug the center line too closely.

Get her a Vento!!

Saw one yesterday

A few friends and I (and da Mrs.) went on the Ride for Dad here yesterday and saw a Ural with sidecar. I talked to the fella who was riding it.

He didn't have any issues with it.. it seemed to be able to do highway speeds without any issues either but I did pass him once or twice. Having the sidecar, he sure did have to go slow around corners (intersections).

Looked cool though.. and the dealership here says he can't keep em in stock... he had ordered in 12 and already sold 11 and the last one had a deposit on it.

just my 2 cents

I've seen a guy a few times North of Baltimore on a T100 with a sidecar. Beautiful bike.

Hermit- I tried 4 or 5 times to ride my daughter's dad's panhead when he had the sidecar set up on it, years ago....I didn't like it- had to really use a lot of upper body strength, not my forte. Coming off of the highway (left and right ramps both) and corners just plain freaked me out. Have you considered a trike? (Lots of room for girly stuff!)

Dill- with a growing family, I loved the sidecar...we used to pack up Tom's little ones from his first marrige- son on the back with Tom, daughter in the sidecar with me, and off we'd go. In early winter/early spring, I felt like a queen, all snuggled up in a blanket, with my hot cocoa and my baby girl growing in my belly, still able to be riding.

Have you thought about a trike instead of a sidecar rig? Easier to handle, and almost as much carrying capacity with the right trunk setup. A friend of mine has a Goldwing GL1500 trike that can carry boatloads of gear.